turning page | A REMUS LUPIN STORY

xvii. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ADELINE

Birthdays were always a big thing in her household. Esme had always said that her birth was something to celebrate, and that the world should consider itself lucky to be blessed with the existence of Adeline Spica Montgomery. She'd always thought this was an over exaggeration, but carried that same energy forward in her life whenever it was the birthday of somebody else around her. 

"Adeline!" Voices were heard distantly, but she remained half asleep, feeling groggy from exhaustion. "Addie!" Head was hit with something, probably a pillow, and her eyes began to open slowly.

"What?" She grumbled, attempting to adjust to the light whilst staring up at the person annoying her. 

"It's your birthday!"

Margo Mathers-Lee was easily Adeline Montgomery's biggest fan. A day celebrating her existence was certainly one worthwhile. She jumped onto her bed, hitting her again with the pillow, and giggling. Her friend eventually retained consciousness, and couldn't help but let out a small but tired laugh at Margo's movements, stifling a yawn at the same time. "That it is."

"Happy Birthday!" She shouted, tugging Adeline up by the arm and wrapping her in a tight hug. Her curly auburn hair was in a tangled mess, mouth open in another yawn, eyes heavy with sleep, but she returned it gratefully. "Now, come on, lazy." Margo was always moving a million miles an hour, but she'd never been a morning person in this way, standing quickly to retreat downstairs.

Adeline stood sluggishly, pulling a large jumper over her frame and tugging up the same pair of sports shorts she'd worn the night before, deciding against entertaining her other friends in a top and underwear. The two girls left their dorm and were welcomed in the common room by Oliver, Alex, Ana and Winnie, who all exclaimed 'Happy Birthday' in unison.

A content smile formed on Adeline's lips. "Thank you! You two - what are you doing in here?" She asked her Ravenclaw friends. The fat lady wasn't known to be very happy about letting people from other houses in, so much so that many people tended to avoid it, and since her return to the frame, she'd been very particular about who entered.

Anastasia stepped forward and wrapped her friend into a warm hug, pulling back after a few moments but remaining at arms length to brush her hair away from her face. "We wanted to be here when you woke up!"

"And we brought presents." Winnie added, walking over to offer her a side hug. 

"Thank you, both. It means a lot to me." She offered, as they stepped aside to allow her entry into the room. 

Besides Oliver and Alex stood a table with a small pile of presents and cards, and they both beamed at her. Her gratefulness could not be understated: to be surrounded by five incredible friends was a blessing in itself. There hadn't been one birthday spent alone, and she was immensely lucky for that. Adeline walked towards her cousin, who pulled her into a hug. 

"Happy Birthday, little Addie." He grinned. 

"Thank you, Oli. I'm surprised you're able to even focus on my birthday with the Quidditch game later." His expression faltered, slightly, and she felt bad for mentioning it, but he waved it off.

"Don't remind me."

Alexander grabbed her hand, then, and tugged her into his arms, smiling widely from ear to ear. "I've already said it, but Happy Birthday, Montgomery." They pulled back and gazed happily at each other. 

The presents she'd received had been incredible. Margo had gotten her a pretty pink top with fur on the end of the long sleeves, and Winnie and Ana had given her a set of notebooks that were patterned with different constellations. Oliver had opted for a new Gryffindor scarf with matching gloves, and Alex had gifted a muggle camera, which he informed her would not work whilst they were at Hogwarts, but would be reserved for the summer after they graduated. Her parents sent a card and a long, fur trimmed jacket she'd seen in a shop over Christmas. She thanked everybody with a rather large group hug, and they all retreated to get ready for the day: because for the Gryffindor house, her birthday certainly wasn't the most important thing, but the Quidditch game.